Steal the Moon
by Gypsy Ghostwriter
Summary: I pulled her out of the canal a few blocks down. She would've drowned if I hadn't.' The gang has a brand new adventure ahead. [Premerrygoround, pairing undecided]
1. The Ultimate Steal

**A/N: There's pretty much just one thing I want to say beforehand. This is my very first Thief Lord fanfic, and I'm writing it after not having read the book or seen the movie in a while. So, please excuse me if at any time any of the characters are OOC. I'm working on getting a copy of the book for reference. Also, I don't own anything except my OC. Enjoy!**

It was near midnight in Venice. The moon was high in the sky and most of the city was winding down if it wasn't already asleep, and The Star Palace was no exception. That is, until its residents were abruptly awaken by a dull yet forceful knocking on the door. Riccio, the established doorman for the night sprang out of his half awake state almost immediately to answer, and flung the door open unceremoniously and without remembering to request a password, as usual. On the other side of the wood stood a slightly irritated looking Scipio, carrying in his arms a young woman. "Honestly, hedgehog. Is it really so hard to ask for a password?" Riccio wasn't listening; he was far more fixated on the creature resting in Scipio's arms than in Scipio himself.

Scipio marched into the building and over to the beds where the other members of his gang sat with all of his usual authority. "Quickly, clear a bed. Anyone. I can't carry her for very much longer." Prosper quickly sprang up to clear his bed, aiding Scipio in setting the girl down afterwards. Once she was properly settled onto the makeshift bed and they were somewhat over their shock, the group allowed themselves comments.

"Wow, Scip. You really are a thief," stated an amazed Bo. Prosper frowned.

"Scipio, who is she?" Scipio shrugged. To tell the truth, he wasn't entirely sure himself.

"I don't know. I pulled her out of the canal a few blocks down. She would've drowned if I hadn't." Now it was Mosca's turn to frown.

"Why did you bring her _here?_ What if she wakes up, tells someone we're here? We'd all have to leave!"

"And what if someone comes looking for her?" Added Riccio. Scipio did nothing but roll his eyes.

"Have we ever been found out before?" His companions shared uneasy glances, but said nothing. "Exactly. And I don't intend on that changing." With that, he set off to create a new bed for his discovery. Hornet yawned, somewhat contented with Scipio's vague reassurance. Exhausted, she turned over and promptly fell back asleep.

The others, however, hovered over the body. Bo smiled. "She's pretty," He remarked. Prosper nodded his agreement.

"But she's so pale." Mosca examined the coloring in her cheeks, finding them deathly white and fairly cold.

"Well, what do you expect? I told you she nearly drowned in the canal!" exclaimed Scipio as he returned, his arms full with various blankets. "This'll have to do for now." As he spoke he began to arrange the blankets, one on top of another, and finished by stacking two pillows on the top. "Until I can get another mattress. Prop, would you mind helping me move her?" Prosper nodded, and took the half opposite Scipio. It was easy enough, and soon everyone was settling back into their respective beds. Everyone, that is, except a certain thief lord.

Scipio paid no attention as his friends and comrades fell into a deep sleep, almost as abruptly as they had awaken. He nearly forgot the fact that in a few short hours his father would be looking for him, expecting him to be asleep in his own bed. He nearly forgot the fact that the temperature outside was rapidly decreasing, and that he had with him only a very thin coat, the sleeves of which were still wet; he had expected to be home far sooner than this. He had briefly put every one of his thoughts on hold as he stared at her sleeping form, long wavy black hair splayed out onto the ground, face as pale as it was when he first dragged her out of the water over an hour ago. Her lips, however, were no longer tinged with blue, and for this he was thankful. He suspected that she would live through this. Satisfied for now, he readjusted his mask, and left the Stella, his companions and her, the silver chain around her neck glinting in the moonlight.

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness! This was just a bit of an introduction to the story. Don't worry, chapters will become longer. **


	2. Authority is the New Gin

**A/N: I'm back! And I fixed the hedgehog thing in the last chapter. XD Enjoy.**

Scipio returned the next day, a sack slung over one shoulder as usual. He was greeted this time by Prosper, who gave a smile that seemed to simply be for courtesy and allowed him entrance. Bo soon appeared as well, knowing that Scipio was the only person who ever visited the Stella. "Hey, Scip!" he beamed, staring up at him from under his avalanche of curly hair. "What've you got?" Scipio grinned and set the bag in between Mosca, Riccio and Hornet once he was further inside.

"How is she?" He sent a quick glance up to the balcony where they slept. Riccio shrugged.

"You mean that girl? Still sleeping."

"We found some nasty bruises on her this morning," added Prosper, "But she looks okay otherwise. I think the color in her cheeks is coming back, too." Scipio nodded.

"Could be worse, I suppose." He reached down and began to refill the sack; its contents having been spilled out by Mosca minutes after he had set it down. "We need to go to Barbarossa's," he announced. "One of you needs to stay behind in case she wakes up." His cohorts exchanged glances, none of them actually wanting to stay behind while their friends were out. "Riccio," He decided.

Riccio looked up. "What? Why me?" Scipio didn't answer; he was already at the door, the rest of the gang at his heels.

"Bolt the door. And for god's sake, ask for the password!" Riccio sighed. He walked over and bolted the door, just as Scipio had told him to and made his way to the balcony. She wouldn't wake up in the next few hours anyways; he was sure of it. He didn't see why he had to stay behind.

He stared resentfully at the dark-haired corpse of a girl before taking a seat next to her. "Looks like you and I have something in common at the moment," he said to her, although unsure as to whether or not she could hear him. "The name's Riccio." She didn't answer. _Figures, _thought Riccio.

He once again began to scrutinize her, having only seen a few things in their brief examination of her earlier that day. Now that he was looking closer, he could see small – enough so that they were already beginning to heal- scrapes on her arms, legs and face. He also noticed that one of her ankles was slightly swollen, although he wasn't sure if that meant it was twisted or broken. He hoped for twisted; it would get her out faster.

He suddenly noticed something flash. A beam of sunlight had fallen through the roof and was pointing directly at the base of her neck. He reached for the object that was causing the glare and found a long sterling silver chain, at the end of which was a figure of a crescent moon. Riccio grinned. _We'll probably get a fortune for this. _

XXX

It was a little over an hour later when Riccio heard the ringing of the bell, meaning he had company. He stood himself up and raced down the stairs and over to the door. "Password?" he inquired. He heard a muffled response come from the other side and, assuming it was correct (he hadn't a clue what it was himself), he unlatched and threw open the door.

Immediately he found himself staring up a black beak, into the masked eyes of a smiling Scipio. He and the others marched into the seemingly abandoned theater, leaving Riccio to re-latch the door.

"Prosper is a genius!" Exclaimed Scipio, displaying the money made from their trip to Barbarossa's shop. Prosper grinned to himself, as proud of his bargaining skills as the others were grateful.

"Looks like it went well," Riccio observed. Bo nodded enthusiastically.

"Prop made Barbarossa double what he was going to pay!" He beamed up at his older brother. "He deserved it. He was mean, anyways." Scipio turned to face Riccio.

"Anything happen?" Riccio blinked.

"Oh, with her?" He asked suddenly. "Oh, yeah. She woke up and everything." Scipio's eye went wide as saucers. Riccio could tell he was about to run up there himself.

"She did?" He cracked an odd, boyish grin and chuckled to himself.

"Nah. Out cold the whole time. She has a swollen ankle, though. And some scratches." Scipio nodded, although his face was a mixture of disappointment and anger. "Then we'll have to look at them. Later. Right now, we celebrate!"

"You'll never believe what else I found." Riccio's voice sounded weak compared to Scipio's warm, excited one. They all stared at Riccio expectantly as he produced the same silver chain from his pocket. "She had it around her neck. I bet Prop could get Barbarossa to pay a fortune for it!" His colleagues' faces lit up excitedly, but Scipio frowned.

"We'll not sell it," he said with finality. They turned their gazes to him; he was supposed to be a good business man, so why would he turn down a guaranteed sale? "Think about it; do we steal from each other?" Riccio spoke up once again.

"She isn't-"

"She's one of us," Scipio interrupted. "At least for now, if not longer. Do we sell Hornet's books? Or Mosca's radio?" Silence. He nodded. "Exactly. So we'll not sell it. We'll return it when she wakes up."

"If she wakes up," Mosca pointed out.

"_When _she wakes up." And with that, Scipio strutted out, partly drunk on authority.

XXX

The next few days took a similar turn, routine-wise. The gang each took turns on alert -with the exception of Bo, of course- until it came to Prosper's turn. He had been sitting on the balcony, reading one of Hornet's books. So little had happened that he had nearly forgotten what he had stayed behind to do. His hand was buried in his pocket, his fingers wrapped around the chain, when suddenly he heard a grunt and a sharp exhale. He turned his eyes away from his book and looked straight into a giant pair of bright green eyes.


	3. Whatever Helps You Sleep At Night

**A/N: Hello to all my faithful readers. Sorry about the long wait, but this one's just a bit of a filler. I was in a bit of a creative rut… Anyways, enjoy, review and be sure to check out my new oneshot. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

Prosper nearly launched himself three feet in the air when he saw the eyes staring at him, at he certainly did a double-take. Sure enough, the eyes were still staring at him, attached to a confused looking face with what looked like ten times the color that had been there when he had first seen her. He raised his eyebrows. "Finally decide to wake up, huh?" He watched as she cleared the haze in her mind, realizing slowly that she wasn't anywhere she could recognize. He waited for the panic of realizing that she had no idea who Prosper was, either, to set in as well, so he was not surprised at the hostile glare he received. He chuckled. "Not a morning person, I take it."

"Where am I?" she demanded, in a voice as harsh as she could stand to make it. This only made Prosper's grin become wider.

"Don't worry; we're not holding you hostage here, if that's what you're thinking."

"_We?" _she inquired quickly.

"—we certainly weren't going to leave you out in the streets, considering the way you were," he continued, regardless.

"Hold on a second," she interrupted once again. "What's going on here?" Prosper wasn't sure how to respond.

"Y-you don't remember?" She gave him an incredulous look.

"Remember what? Last thing I remember was walking by the canals, and now… I've dropped off the face of the Earth." Prosper chuckled at the statement.

"So it seems. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to tell you where you are. At least, not yet. You understand, right?" She shrugged.

"Not really, but continue." He nodded.

"So you really don't remember anything." She shook her head and balanced herself on her elbows, preparing to stand. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," He warned, earning a glare from her as she proceeded to do it anyways.

"And why not?" she challenged, just as she was hit with a sharp pain. She let out a yelp and immediately fell back down onto the bed.

"Well, that's why. You didn't let me finish."

"Then, finish!" Prosper winced. She was beginning to remind him a bit of himself when he first met Scipio, so in a way he sort of understood.

"Your ankle is twisted." She groaned.

"Really? I never would have known _that_."

"Well, it could have been broken. Then you'd be off your feet for even longer." A long, awkward silence washed over them, conquering the room and suffocating its two inhabitants. It was Prosper who finally broke it. "You know, I think we may've gotten off on the wrong foot. No pun intended, of course." She snorted. "Name's Prosper," he introduced, holding out a hand.

"Artemis," she greeted after a minute of faltering and shifted onto one elbow in order to shake his hand. He noticed immediately how smooth her hands felt against his rough ones. He smiled.

"Well, Artemis, it's a pleasure to meet you. Although, I don't think you'll be able to meet the others quite as soon…" He trailed off. Artemis perked up like a guard dog that had sensed an intruder, telling Prosper that she still wasn't completely trusting him.

"Which others?" He shrugged.

"You'll see. They'll probably be back later tonight." She nodded, and quickly seemed to be in thought about something.

"Are you sure this isn't part of some elaborate scheme to collect ransom money? Because between you and me, I'm not entirely sure if you're going to make much…" This made Prosper laugh.

"I promise you, none of us have any such plans."

"Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night… I'm just saying that if you are--"

"Which I'm not," he interrupted.

"_If you are_," She continued, "It may not turn out quite the way you were expecting it to." Prosper grinned.

"Oh, that reminds me…" He stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out the silver chain Riccio had tried to steal. "I thought you would want this back."

Just like that, it was out of his hands faster than he could hand it to her. "Where did you find this?"

"I have my ways…Is it important?" She nodded.

"It's been in my family for…well, I can't remember how long. But way before I was born." She reached behind her neck, trying to buckle the clasp. "My mother gave it to me." Prosper realized she was having no luck with the necklace and took his queue.

"Here, let me help you with that." She smiled, although it was one that Prosper could not see from his position behind her.

"You know, you're awfully nice to be a thief."

"You know, you're awfully nice to be a hostage," he mimicked, earning a smile from his new sort-of-friend. At least, he assumed she was his friend. For now. Maybe. Just maybe…


End file.
